Decrescendo
by Pyralspite
Summary: Sometime's someone else's past can affect your future. When Dave Strider is targeted by the Midnight Crew and attacked by the Felt, he and Jade uncover a part of Dirk Strider's past that puts them all in the firing range of the most notorious gang in town. AU Modern Day.
1. Chapter 1: All Fall Down

Twenty-two year old Dave Strider sat at the bar of his brother's nightclub, sipping his fifth beer.

His day had been obscenely uncomfortable and horribly boring. His girlfriend, Jade Harley, had a robotics seminar that lasted all day, which meant that Dave was alone in their apartment. He watched TV for a little while, but that did nothing to ease his boredom. He decided to go next door to check out what his sister Rose and his best friend John were up to.

As soon as Dave entered the apartment, he regretted opening his eyes. There on the couch was his best friend, lying on top of his sister. A blanket was covering them, but judging by the noises they were making; it didn't take a genius to figure out what they were doing.

Dave made a small dying noise in his throat, which alerted the couple's attention. They startled, draping the blankets over their bodies and cussing at Dave, asking him if he had the common decency to knock. Dave desperately wished he could bleach his brain to get rid of the memory.

He sat at the barstool, and sighed into his drink. Another horribly disappointing day.

A commotion erupted in the corner of the club, the sounds hitting Dave's ears and piquing his attention slightly. He turned back to his drink, ignoring it. Fights often broke out in his brother's nightclub, and many of the usual visitors often chose to ignore them.

He took another gulp of his beer, sighing as he sat there, bored out of his mind. He looked around the club again and noticed a man in a dark trench coat staring at him with a hateful expression. He nodded at the dude, and looked back at his drink. Creeps like that weren't uncommon around here.

The commotion grew louder, piquing the young Strider's attention. He looked over to see a group of men harassing a girl around his age. She had large eyes, and a tiny demeanor, and she was cowering as a group of men leered at her, smacking her rear end as she passed. One of them grabbed her and roughly planted his lips on hers. When he pushed her away, her lower lip was bleeding.

Dave got up and wiped his mouth, his vision slightly wavering as his alcohol imbued body adjusted to the vertical shift. He couldn't watch this shit any longer. He walked over to the group of men, who were now emitting wolf whistles. The poor girl looked as if she was going to faint at any moment from fear. Dave reached where they were standing.

"Hey, lay off her you assholes. Don't you have anything better to do?"

One of the men glared at him. He looked a few years older than Dave, with glinting coppery hair. His tight black shirt had a symbol of a spade on it. A scar stretched down his face, completing his menacing persona.

"What's it to you kid?" he said with a sneer decorating his expression. Dave stepped closer to that man.

"I'll tell you what it has to do with me. This is my brother's fucking nightclub. If you cause trouble here, you can bet your sorry ass you won't be forgiven," he said, his face contorted into a menacing expression. The copper haired man's eyes narrowed menacingly as he stared at Dave's red eyes, which were invisible through his glasses. Suddenly, Dave was lifted off his feet, and before he could process what was happening, he was flung against the wall, the wind knocked out of him. He struggled to draw in a breath, his lungs burning and his mind reeling from the sudden shock. A tall burly man with a small heart on his shirt grabbed his collar, and pinned him to the wall, feet dangling below him. Dave struggled to get free, his back aching where he had collided.

"We don't want no trouble kid. If I were you, I would back off and let us get on with our fucking business," he said, his acrid breath washing over Strider's face, causing him to gag.

Then, as suddenly as the man had pinned him, he let go, giving off a little 'oomph' noise before falling backwards. Dave glanced up, smirking slightly as he realized who was there.

"Bout time you showed up Bro," he said, dusting his pants off and coughing slightly. Twenty-five year old Dirk Strider simply nodded at his little brother, before turning to the group of men.

"Would you fine fucking gentlemen mind telling me why you were assaulting my brother?" he hissed at them. The tallest one of the four men stepped forward.

"That aint any of your concern Strider, mind yer own damn business," he said. The pale diamond on his shirt stood out almost as much as his shock of bleached white hair. Dirk's eyes narrowed.

"It's all of my damn concern Droog, get the hell out of my nightclub," he said, his voice rising, while he glared daggers at them. The man with the scar flipped him off, and walked towards the exit, his hands in his pockets. The tall one sneered at Dirk as he passed.

"This ain't fucking done Strider," he said, spitting on the ground as he passed. Dirk's body was ramrod stiff, and he was clenching his fists so hard that his knuckles were white. Dave placed a hand on his brother's shoulder to steady himself. The booze was really starting to take its effect, and Dave was a lightweight when it came to alcohol.

"I….think I'm going to head home bro," he said, pulling off his shades to blink his eyes a bit. His brother looked at him with a concerned expression, and then back at the door.

"Assholes," he said, muttering as he walked back to the bar to talk to their barista, Roxy Lalonde, who was Rose's cousin and Dirk's childhood friend. She grinned at him slightly, before gliding off to the other side of the bar to take someone's order.

Dave grabbed his leather jacket, slung it over his shoulder, and walked out of the doors. The night was cool, the breeze biting at Dave's skin slightly, waking him up. He started walking down the deserted streets the the apartment he and Jade shared, which was about ten blocks from the nightclub.

There were scarcely any people around at this time of night. Dave looked down at his watch, cursing as 1:00 AM glared up at him. He was supposed to be home three hours ago, when Jade came back from her seminar. He groaned as he imagined how pissed she would be.

He stumbled slightly as he made his way down the street, his vision blurring slightly and his senses inhibited by the amount of alcohol he consumed. He was in front of the apartment building when he heard footsteps behind him.

He turned around slowly, wondering who the hell would be up at this time. He was greeted by a man in a bright green hoodie, who had a psychotic snarl on his face.

Dave immediately tensed up, his battle senses kicking in. Suddenly, he was surrounded by green hooded men. Each had a number ranging from 1-15 on the top of his hoodie.

"You should've messed with Spades Slick kid. Dear old Dirky already pissed him off past recognition years ago. Do you have any idea how much Slick paid us to get rid of you?" said the man with the number three on his hoodie.

"An ironically ridiculous fucking amount I suppose," Dave retorted, his face utterly serene. Number two snarled at him.

"Sorry kid, but money is money, and Slick ain't a forgivin man,"

Dave barely had time to flinch before a metal pipe struck the bottom of his ribs, causing him to gasp as blood bubbled up to his lips.

A figure came up behind him, and Dave ducked out of the way just as he threw a punch with his brass knuckles. His senses were going into overdrive, his blood pumping and adrenaline fueling his every step.

He dodged and flash stepped, throwing punches and dodging hits. Never before has Dave wanted his Katana in his possession so badly.

He had managed to knock out three of the hooded men before a sharp pain in his side drove him to his knees. He looked down a found a sharp dagger sticking out of his torso. He pulled it out, and the wound started gushing blood.

Another sharp pain hit him as someone kicked him in the gut. He cried out in pain, his body lurching to the ground, his aviators falling off his face and onto the pavement. Waves of agony wracked his body as the rest of the hooded men assaulted him, kicking him and beating him. The one with the brash knuckles punched him in the nose, breaking it and drawing blood. One of Dave's ribs cracked as 15 kicked him in the chest.

He heard someone yelling, but it seemed muffled, as if it were far away. Blood stained his shirt, making the red even darker than before.

Suddenly, the assault stops. Dave looks up at 1, his eyes half closed and on the brink of unconsciousness. Pain racked his body, making him wince.

1 held his gun pointed down at Dave, the psychotic smile decorating his face once more.

"It was nice knowing ya Strider. I would love to stay and look at the expression on your dear brother's face when he finds your cold dead body on the sidewalk, but sadly I have other tasks to complete," he sneered. His finger pulls back the trigger and a shot echoes around the block.

The bullet enters Dave's body and the last thing he hears before slipping into unconsciousness is Rose's and John's panicked shouts and Jade's bloodcurdling scream.

* * *

**First Homestuck fanfiction! Woot! Up to this point, all I've written are hunger games fanfictions.**

**I'll post up the next chapter to this as soon as I can. It includes a lot of Dave/Jade. One can never have too much Dave/Jade, it is simply not possible.**

**It is also my OTP**

**REVIEW and tell me what you think!**

**~Reaper**


	2. Chapter 2: Hell's Night

**A/N: Trigger Warnings - ATTEMPTED rape and gory descriptions. Yeh've been warned.**

**Also, more beta's getting beat up.**

* * *

Jade snapped up from the couch, alerted by someone banging on her door. She groaned. She was totally going to chew Dave out for coming back so late.

She walked towards the door, when a commotion coming from outside catches her attention. It sounded like…..the clanging of a pipe? Frantic voices echoed from her door.

"Jade let us in!"

"This is an emergency Jade, open the door!"

Her eyes widened as she heard John's and Rose's panicked shouts from the other side of the door. Scrambling, she unlocks it, and finds her bedraggled friends behind it, panic lighting their eyes. Ice cold claws of panic grip at her heart. Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong.

John simply ran to the other side of the room, where a window was placed that looked over the street. She saw his blue eyes widen as he turned back to the two girls.

"Rose, get Jade into the bedroom and lock the door. Don't come out no matter what," he says his voice eerily cold.

"John but-"Rose protests.

"JUST GO!" he shouts at them. Jade's eyes glint, as she suddenly breaks away from Rose's grip and runs to the window.

What she sees below makes her blood run cold.

A dozen or so green clothed figures stand in a circle around a motionless figure on the ground. Three more green hooded men lay to the side, motionless, spots of crimson decorating their bright hoodies. Jade squints her eyes and takes a closer look at the figure in the center of the circle. Her heart nearly stops as a small gasp escapes her porcelain throat.

Dave is lying on the ground, curled up into himself, emitting cries of pain. Blood runs down his face from various cuts, and one of his eyes is swollen shut. His shirt is soaked crimson. His glasses lay smashed a few feet from where he is lying.

John and Rose let out slight shouts and Jade lets out a small squeal when they begin beating him once more. John's hand clamps over Jade's mouth, muffling the scream she emits.

Suddenly, he sees the man pull out a gun and point it at Dave. John's eyes widen, as the man in the green hoodie mutters a few words. A shot rings out, and John and Rose emit simultaneous sounds of shock, while Jade screams. Dave's body on the ground goes still, tendrils of crimson branching out from a spot near the bottom of his ribs. The green hooded man's eyes turn to the source of the screams. A cruel smile breaks out against his face as he proceeds towards the entrance of the apartment building with his men.

John's heart thuds in his chest as he realizes where the man is headed. He grabs the two girls and drags them to the room Dave and Jade share.

"Whatever happens, whatever you hear, don't unlock this room and come outside. I know that they'll be coming up here next, and I want you two to stay in the room, and call 911, okay?" he says, his voice tinged with panic.

"John, stay here with us," Rose says insistently, clutching onto his sleeve. He removes her hand gently.

"I can't Rosie-Posie. I'm going to try to distract them long enough for the cops to show up," he cups her cheek with his hand and kisses her gently. "Rose, if something happens to me, I want you and Jade to promise me you'll stay safe,"

Rose nodded gently, small tears slipping out of the corners of her eyes as she realized what he meant. She hugged him tightly, and he turned to Jade, pressing a small kiss to the top of her head.

"Stay safe Jade," he said, enveloping her in a hug. She nodded mutely, gripping onto his torso for dear life as tiny sobs wracked her body. The image of Dave's still body on the pavement below refused to leave her head.

A loud knock came from the door, making them all jump. A look of panic entered John's eyes once more, and he pressed them both into one last hug.

"Stay safe you two don't come out no matter what! And remember, I love you," he said rapidly, his words blurring together as he rushed to the door of the bedroom, closing it behind him and locking it. Jade clutches her head in her hands, her thoughts spiraling. Events were moving fast. Far too fast.

Rose immediately darts to the phone, dialing the cops and emergency services. Her throat sticks painfully as she views her brother, who was most likely dead now, lying on the ground outside in her minds eye. She clears her throat as emergency services picks up.

"Hello thith ith emergency thurvices. How can we help you?" said a voice with a heavily accented lisp. Rose took a breath, and started to speak.

"Hello, this is Rose Lalonde. Just a few minutes ago, my brother was assaulted by a gang outside of our apartment. He was brutally beaten and shot at, and he may be dead. The gang is ascending the stairs at the moment, trying to get into our flat. My boyfriend is in the living room, trying to stall them and make sure they don't get in, while his sister and I are locked inside a back room. Please help, I don't think he can hold them off too long." She stated calmly, her last sentence tinged with desperation.

"Would you mind telling me where you live ma'am?"

"Yes, of course, but please do hurry," she says, stating her address.

"Thank you ma'am. Emergency thurvices are on their way. Please thay in the back room, and do not, by any means, thry to assult them," the man said quickly before the phone clicked off. Rose put down the phone, just as she heard a crash in the living room. Her eyes widened as she quickly ran to Jade. The two women silently slipped into the closet, their hearts pounding, fear radiating off their bodies.

Out in the hallway, John stood, armed with a gun and a hammer. He trembled slightly, his nerves on end, desperately hoping that the girl's had dialed the police by now. Suddenly, the banging on the door started up again.

"Let us in kid," the voice behind it said calmly. John sucked in a breath.

"Not a chance in hell," John retorted, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Very well then, we'll just have to knock this door down. Cans, you know what to do,"

For a moment, nothing happened. John's nerves were stretched so tight he feared that they would snap.

Then suddenly, all hell broke loose.

There was a crashing noise as a large man in a green hoodie burst through the door, splintering it and ripping it off its hinges. He looked mean and menacing, and was at least half a foot taller than John, and twice as wide. The smaller man gulped, his saliva getting stuck in his throat.

Another man passed through the door, this one thin, with a sharply pointed chin. He smirked at John.

"Ah, you must be one of Dave Strider's friends. Well, unfortunately for you, Spades Slick gave me orders to assault anyone who had anything to do with him,"

The larger man cracked his knuckled and began to walk towards John. In one quick swoop, John raised his gun, and a bullet was loaded into the large man's skull. He fell backwards, and was dead before he even hit the floor.

Five more hooded men came through the door. John blinked, taking in the bright green hoodies. _What type of shitty gang wears bright neon hoodies?_ Suddenly, the man with the brass knuckles ran towards John, and quick as a flash, punched him clear in the jaw. John's head snapped back, and blood started flowing from the cut that the knuckles had left. He reeled back, dazed, as another man charged at him. John swung his hammer, and another member of the Felt joined his comrade on the floor, unconscious.

The thin man looked at John, his face taking on a menacing expression. He made a gesture with one of his hands, signaling two of his men to seize John. They held the dazed boy captive between them, as he struggled fruitlessly to break free.

"You…son of a bitch!" he said, spitting out some blood that had pooled in his mouth from the punch. He glared at the thin man, who simply raised a shotgun.

"I'm sorry young man, but the Felt is not forgiving. You killed one of my men and injured another. It is only fitting that I injure you as well," he said, clicking his gun. John clenched his eyes shut, waiting for the pain to flare up when the bullet entered his body.

For a long moment, nothing happened. The only sound in the apartment was the breathing and shuffling of the gang members. John opened his eyes, wondering why the man wasn't shooting.

And then the shot rang out.

A splash of crimson spread across John's white shirt, where the bullet had hit him in the torso. He cried out in pain and slumped to the ground, clutching his side, his face contorted into a pained expression.

Rose and Jade sat in the closet, clutching onto eachother for dear life. They heard a commotion in the living room, as well as a loud 'thwack' sound signaling flesh being beaten. Then all was still.

Rose's heart nearly stopped when she heard the gunshot.

Quick as a flash, she dove out of the closet, leaving a protesting Jade behind her. She unlocked the door, only to find John lying on the ground, a splash of crimson on his shirt. He groaned as he got up, turning his face and giving her a perfect view of the gash on his cheek.

"Would you assholes just let us be?!" he shouted at the thin man, before charging at him. Sadly, he failed to notice the man with the baseball bat behind him.

A loud thwack echoed around the apartment as the baseball bat contacted John's skull. His eyes rolled back in his head, and he fell to the carpet unconscious, a gash on the back of his head starting to trickle blood.

"JOHN!" Rose screamed. The men turned to her, a strange glint in their eyes.

"Ah, and who may you be?" one of the shorter gang member's asked, purring out the last word. Rose's stomach flopped sickeningly.

"May I inquire as to why you men have left my brother dead outside and knocked my boyfriend unconscious just now?" she asked, her voice deadly calm. The tall one leered at her.

"You're Strider's sister eh? You know, you're quite pretty my dear. Perhaps we can have a bit of….fun with you before we kill you?"

He advanced on her, and grabbed her arm roughly, bringing his face close to hers. Rose brought her hands up, clawing at his face as he attempted to kiss her, leaving long parallel gashes down his cheeks. He sneered.

"This one needs to be taught a lesson," he snapped his fingers. "Boys, you know what to do,"

Two men roughly grabbed Rose's arms, and she winced, sure that there would be a bruise there by tomorrow. The tall one took out a knife, and stood behind rose.

Slowly, he dragged the knife down her dress, cutting open the fabric all the way down to the small of her back, revealing pale white skin. Rose struggled against the men, tears streaming down her eyes. The tall man smirked at her discomfort, slipping his knife under her bra strap and cutting that open too.

Rose's eyes widened. "You bastards!" she screamed, her face contorting in a menacing expression. The man at her back simply smirked.

"Well dear, do you like art? Hmm, I think your back is too plain. It could use some…..design work,"

Slowly and meticulously, he dragged the tip of his knife along her back, deep enough to leave a scar but not deep enough to kill her. He traced the outline of a large skull, with tentacles on the bottom, and added meticulous details. The pain increased and increased, until it was at the point where Rose was screaming.

"YOU SICK FUCKS! LET ME GO!" she screamed, tears running down her face, while the blood dripped down her back and onto the floor, staining the carpet red.

Back in the closet, Jade lay huddled with her hands pressed to her ears. She felt bile rising in her throat, as Rose screamed. Finally, she couldn't take it any longer.

She rose and darted out into the hallway, where Rose was being cut. A gasp died in her throat, as the men turned around to look at her.

"Ah, another fine young lady! What may you're relationship with Strider be fine miss?"

Jade narrowed her eyes. "I'm Dave's girlfriend, and would you be so kind as to let my friend go and GET THE FUCK OUT?!" she said, screaming at him. The tall man grinned, and dropped his knife. His two comrades let go of Rose, who sank to the floor. She looked up at Jade with tear stained eyes, and mouthed one word before falling unconscious.

"Run"

Jade scampered back into the room as the man advanced on her. Panic gripped her being, as she pressed herself against a wall, trying to get as far away from him as she could. The man continued to advance on her, and all the other Felt members entered the room, standing around him.

"Well, I don't think Strider would mind sharing, would he men? After all, he's not exactly in the best state right now,"

The men around him burst into laughter as he removed his hood, revealing the iciest pair of brown eyes Jade had ever seen. His dark hair glinted in the ceiling light.

"Strider's girl, I'm going to have fun with you,"

He darted forward and pinned her against the wall, her arms above her head. Slowly, meticulously, he ran the dagger down the front of her dress, cutting it open. It pooled near her feat as she tried to worm free, struggling against the man.

"YOU SICK FUCK!" she screamed, spitting on his face. He growled, and slapped her, leaving a large red mark on her cheek. Her wrists were already beginning to bruise where he was holding them.

He pressed his lips against hers roughly, and she bit down on his bottom lip as hard as she could. He yelled out in pain, and drew back, wincing at his injured lip and glaring daggers at her. He pressed his body against hers.

Slowly but carefully, he slid the knife halfway down the front of her bra. Just as he was about to cut it completely open, sirens blared from outside.

The man cursed, and let go of Jade, darting off. She slid to the floor, clutching her head as nausea struck her.

She felt a blanket being draped over her, and the last thing she remembered before passing out was warm arms lifting her up, and carrying her to safety.

* * *

**So there's ch.2. I actually had a bit of trouble writing it all in the same tense, so you'll notice that I swap tenses ever so often. **

**Okay, so anyway, before any of you guys beat me up for this, You've gotta believe me when I say that this is all planned. Yes, Dave Strider is supposed to be lying on the pavement, bleeding out and supposedly dead. Yes, John is supposed to be shot through with a bullet and knocked out. Yes, Rose is supposed to be lying on the carpet, bleeding out of the intricate design on her back. And yes, Jade is supposed to be bruised and beaten up.**

**Never fear! The Trolls are here! Yeah, I'll be introducing the trolls in the next chapter. Be ready for shameless shipping on my part.**

**I'd like to say one thing though. I say this on all my fanfics, and this isn't any different. I'm sorry to dissapoint folks, but there will be absolutely NO smut in this story. None. Nope. Nada. Zip. Zero.**

**The reason behind this is due to the fact that I simply cannot write smut. I can't even read it without gagging or scrolling the page down. I'm only fourteen guys, just a freshmen, and truthfully, I'm kinda a prude when it comes to the topic of sex. So, I'm sorry to dissapoint you guys if you were looking forward to smut, because you won't be finding any. The worst it will probably get is a hot makeout session, and even then, It'll be inadequate, due to the sad fact that I haven't even had my first kiss yet. Hell, I don't even have a boyfriend.**

**One thing you can expect though is a shitload of sexual tension when it comes to the trolls. Loads of sexual tension. Buckets of sexual tension. BUCKETS.**

**(haha, see what I did there?)**

**So anyway, you guys will meet the trolls in the next chapter, and please don't expect any smut.**

**Thanks for reading guys.**

**Please REVIEW and tell me what I can improve, as well as any errors you may find. Someone actually pointed out my error in the last chapter where I accidentally made Roxy Rose's sister instead of cousin. Don't be afraid to criticize, it always helps me improve.**

**~Reaper**


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